During the landing of an aircraft, the pilot of the aircraft must actuate a control stick in order to perform a flare maneuver manually, this actuation having to be carried out in such a way that the impact of the aircraft with the ground occurs smoothly. The performance of this flare maneuver in complete safety requires a certain flight experience on the part of the pilot. In fact, the control stick actuation is based on visual feedback to the pilot from the environment of the aircraft, from flight parameters indicated in the cockpit, and from audible parameters such as engine noise or wind noise. The pilot's attention must therefore shift from the control instruments to the runway and vice versa, and this must take place numerous times within a reduced period.
In order to assist the pilot, HUD (Head-Up Display) devices exist which allow a maximum amount of useful information to be displayed. However, not all aircraft are equipped with devices of this type.
Devices are also known which are designed to prevent the vertical speeds of the aircraft on impact with the runway from exceeding a predetermined value, generally 8 feet per second (around 2.4 meters per second) if the pilot does not perform the flare maneuver correctly. This vertical speed limit of 8 feet per second (around 2.4 meters per second) is extremely high in relation to the customary vertical speed target of 2.5 feet per second (around 0.76 meters per second). However, this limit cannot be less, since it would make the device too intrusive into the pilot's freedom to maneuver.
It is known from document U.S. Pat. No. 8,831,799 to compute a fixed flare starting from a fixed geographical location and to guide the aircraft along the path corresponding to this flare. However, this path remains fixed until the impact of the aircraft with the landing runway. This solution obliges the pilots to follow a given path and adapt his flying technique in order to follow this path. This solution is therefore not satisfactory.
In order to assist the pilot with landing, it is also known from document FR 3032044 to use two different acoustic signals modulated as a function of the difference between a current angle of deflection of the control stick and a target angle of deflection of the control stick. However, when the control stick remains in a position for balanced flying, the aircraft does not reduce its vertical speed. The alert level remains constant since the sound signal emitted in the cockpit is a function of the difference between the current angle of deflection of the control stick and the target angle of deflection of the control stick. One possibility for overcoming this disadvantage would be to use a sound signal of which the alert level increases when the aircraft approaches the ground by keeping the angle of deflection of the control stick at a constant position. In this case, it would be possible to carry out a method based on a variable target position of the control stick which changes when the aircraft approaches the ground. However, this method would impose on the pilot a dynamic of the movement of the control stick or a point of impact with the ground which is not the point of impact intended by the pilot.